1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and system for testing a software product. More particular, the present invention relates to a test generation system for automatically generating a test script file that is used to test a software product.
2. Background Art
As the use of computer technology becomes more prevalent, businesses are increasingly seeking software solutions to address their business needs. For example, a business might use accounting software to track their accounts receivable, while using inventory software to track their current inventory. Often, however, the software used in business fails, which results in substantial financial loss for the business. Accordingly, software technicians are constantly seeking new ways to test software prior to its implementation.
Currently, software is tested by generating a series “test cases.” A test case is a sequence of steps that are required to perform a certain action within the software. For example, if a software product requires a user to login, a series of test cases could be designed to test whether the login process is functioning properly.
Heretofore, test case generation has been a manual process. Specifically, a test designer examines the documentation of the software product under test and the manually writes test cases based upon the documentation. Under such a scenario, however, the test designer must change the test cases if the documentation changes. Moreover, if test automation is required, the test designer must manually attempt to automate the tests. In the past, such a process was sufficient. However, as software achieves higher levels of complexity, and as they interact with more internal systems, the workload required to achieve the same quality is often beyond the time allotted in project schedules.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for a comprehensive tool that can automatically generate test cases. In addition, a need exists for the generated test cases to be either automatically or manually run to test the software product.